GIC
Global Industrial Company
stock NYSE

Generic investment advice
First, you should pay off your bad debts—especially credit cards with interest rates of 18% or more. You will never get a better return than paying those off, compared to any other investment. Also, paying off other high-interest debts should be a priority.
Second, you should build an emergency fund. It’s usually recommended to keep 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses in a high-interest savings account in case you lose your job, get sick, or face an emergency (Wealthsimple, Oaken Financials, Canadian Tire Bank or PC Financial offer higher interest rate than regular banks). The goal is to have money readily available at any time if needed. Some people prefer to put this amount in the ETF like CASH, CSAV or PSA, which pays interest monthly.
After that, the type of investment you choose will depend on your investment goal. If you’re investing for less than 5 years, it’s better to put the money into a safer investment, such as a high-interest savings account, a money market fund (like ZMMK or CBIL or TBIL), a short-term bond fund (like ZST or ZST.L), or a GIC. The longer your investment horizon, the more risk you can take, since you’ll have more time for your investments to recover after a major drop.
If you’re investing for more than 8 years, you can look at stocks and bonds. The larger the portion of bonds in your portfolio, the less it will fluctuate (big ups and downs), but your return will generally be lower than if you had a larger portion of stocks. There are several ways to invest in these types of assets. You can invest in a mutual fund that combines stocks and bonds according to your risk tolerance, but management fees range from 1% to 2.5% (amount deducted every year from your invested amount by the financial institution). Alternatively, you can invest with a robo-advisor, where management fees are around 0.2% to 0.6%, which leaves more money in your pocket than a mutual fund. Robo-advisors build a portfolio of index funds and automatically rebalance it for you. Here’s a list of robo-advisors available in Canada: [https://www.ratehub.ca/investing/robo-advisors](https://www.ratehub.ca/investing/robo-advisors)
Another option is to invest on your own in all-in-one index funds such as XBAL/VBAL/ZBAL (60% stocks / 40% bonds), XGRO/VGRO/ZGRO (80% stocks / 20% bonds), or XEQT/VEQT/ZEQT (100% stocks / 0% bonds). The management fees for an all-in-one ETF are around 0.17% to 0.20%, so they’re even cheaper than robo-advisors, though slightly more effort (but not much). For this last option, you’ll need a brokerage account. Disnat from Desjardins, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Wealthsimple, Qtrade and Questrade offer commission-free brokerage accounts for index funds. Here’s a list of the main all-in-one index funds in Canada: [https://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/](https://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/)
You can also do this Vanguard risk tolerance test, if you want to know what profile is right for you (% of stocks and % of bonds):
[https://investor.vanguard.com/tools-calculators/investor-questionnaire](https://investor.vanguard.com/tools-calculators/investor-questionnaire)
You can read the book "From Zero to millionaire" by Nicolas Bérubé or "The Wealthy Barber" by David Chilton (2025 edition), it explains how to invest effectively in diversified low cost index funds.

Generic investment advice
First, you should pay off your bad debts—especially credit cards with interest rates of 18% or more. You will never get a better return than paying those off, compared to any other investment. Also, paying off other high-interest debts should be a priority.
Second, you should build an emergency fund. It’s usually recommended to keep 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses in a high-interest savings account in case you lose your job, get sick, or face an emergency (Wealthsimple, Oaken Financials, Canadian Tire Bank or PC Financial offer higher interest rate than regular banks). The goal is to have money readily available at any time if needed. Some people prefer to put this amount in the ETF like CASH, CSAV or PSA, which pays interest monthly.
After that, the type of investment you choose will depend on your investment goal. If you’re investing for less than 5 years, it’s better to put the money into a safer investment, such as a high-interest savings account, a money market fund (like ZMMK or CBIL or TBIL), a short-term bond fund (like ZST or ZST.L), or a GIC. The longer your investment horizon, the more risk you can take, since you’ll have more time for your investments to recover after a major drop.
If you’re investing for more than 8 years, you can look at stocks and bonds. The larger the portion of bonds in your portfolio, the less it will fluctuate (big ups and downs), but your return will generally be lower than if you had a larger portion of stocks. There are several ways to invest in these types of assets. You can invest in a mutual fund that combines stocks and bonds according to your risk tolerance, but management fees range from 1% to 2.5% (amount deducted every year from your invested amount by the financial institution). Alternatively, you can invest with a robo-advisor, where management fees are around 0.2% to 0.6%, which leaves more money in your pocket than a mutual fund. Robo-advisors build a portfolio of index funds and automatically rebalance it for you. Here’s a list of robo-advisors available in Canada: [https://www.ratehub.ca/investing/robo-advisors](https://www.ratehub.ca/investing/robo-advisors)
Another option is to invest on your own in all-in-one index funds such as XBAL/VBAL/ZBAL (60% stocks / 40% bonds), XGRO/VGRO/ZGRO (80% stocks / 20% bonds), or XEQT/VEQT/ZEQT (100% stocks / 0% bonds). The management fees for an all-in-one ETF are around 0.17% to 0.20%, so they’re even cheaper than robo-advisors, though slightly more effort (but not much). For this last option, you’ll need a brokerage account. Disnat from Desjardins, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Wealthsimple, Qtrade and Questrade offer commission-free brokerage accounts for index funds. Here’s a list of the main all-in-one index funds in Canada: [https://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/](https://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/)
You can also do this Vanguard risk tolerance test, if you want to know what profile is right for you (% of stocks and % of bonds):
[https://investor.vanguard.com/tools-calculators/investor-questionnaire](https://investor.vanguard.com/tools-calculators/investor-questionnaire)
You can read the book "From Zero to millionaire" by Nicolas Bérubé or "The Wealthy Barber" by David Chilton (2025 edition), it explains how to invest effectively in diversified low cost index funds.

Interest rate hikes.
Why invest in dividends when a HISA or GIC gives you more with less risk?

I’m very new to investing and would really appreciate some guidance.
Currently I have:
$20K in TD Comfort Balanced Growth Portfolio — MER around 2.07% ( This is RESP for my son he is 7 currently, I want it to grow at its best rate )
$20K in TD Comfort Growth Portfolio in my TFSA — MER around 2.18%
$40K in a GIC, which matures in January
I also have another $80K that I’m planning to invest using my spouse’s TFSA contribution room
So I’m looking at around $160K that I need to decide how to invest.
I recently learned about MERs and have been reading Reddit. A lot of people seem to recommend moving away from TD mutual funds because the fees are high and using lower-cost ETFs/index funds instead.
I’m honestly very new to investing and don’t understand ETFs, asset allocation, or how to build a portfolio myself.
I tried looking for a financial advisor who could help me choose and set everything up, but the advisors I found were charging $3,000+ for a financial plan, which is more than I want to spend.
What would you recommend for someone in my situation?
If I move away from TD Comfort funds, what are some simple, low-cost options I should research? Should I consider an all-in-one ETF, a robo-advisor, or something else?
I’m looking for a relatively simple “set it and leave it” approach rather than actively trading.
Any advice or resources for a complete beginner would be greatly appreciated.